Posted on 02/01/2007 10:42:36 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
President Bush yesterday said there is a growing "income inequality" gap between rich and poor Americans, and told companies they should rethink the giant compensation packages they offer top executives.
The markedly populist message, a divergence from the past, in which Mr. Bush has accused critics of practicing class warfare, was all the more noteworthy given his venue -- a speech at Federal Hall in New York, in the middle of Wall Street, the capital of capitalism.
But the president called for conservative market-based answers, including demanding that Congress renew trade-promotion authority, which allows him to negotiate trade agreements then present them to Congress in a take-it-or-leave-it fashion.
Mr. Bush said he expects a bruising debate before his current trade-promotion authority expires July 1.
"Bashing trade can make for good sound bites on the evening news," Mr. Bush said. "But walling off America from world trade would be a disaster for our economy. Congress needs to reject protectionism."
In what was billed as his update on the state of the U.S. economy, Mr. Bush took credit for the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, promised to submit a budget next week that eliminates the deficit in 2012, and asked Congress to give him a version of line-item veto authority.
"When people across the world look at America's economy, what they see is low inflation, low unemployment and the fastest growth of any major industrialized nation," he said. "There is one undisputed leader in the world in terms of economy, and that's the United States of America."
But Democrats said Mr. Bush's rosy picture of the overall economy was out of focus.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
PING!
What else is new?
As a certified, card carrying BushBot, I am irritated that Bush would be pandering to the populists.
Just like Rush says he won't stop until everyone agrees with him. W won't stop until everyone disagrees.
Can we start by cutting the pay of Senators, Congresscritters, and their staffs?
Egads, what other Dem platitudes is this president going to co-opt? Maybe he wants to make abortions "safe, legal, and rare" too?
Usually the smartest move a CEO can make is screw up the company so much, they are forced to give him a lucrative buyout package so they can fire him.
I think you may be on to something. The pod was emplaced sometime during the night the democrats took control of the House and Senate and left us with a Stepford-Mr Rogers who looked like our President....
A Harvard MBA ought to be chiding companies about their responsibility to their shareholders, not their profits.
He's got a rough road ahead trying to get trade promotion auhority renewed with a Dem congress. If he doesn't get it, it will affect lower income workers adversely.
Agreed, and that is the problem with the lesser of two evils we always seem to be faced with. The lessers get less and the evils get more evil.
And that's going to help the "puuuur" exactly how?
I don't believe I heard him suggesting a solution that involved the federal government.
He's just doing this to try and get dems to llike him..but they would still have W if he drove up and down Times Square tossing bags of $100 bills out the windows on New Years Eve.
"If he doesn't get it, it will affect lower income workers adversely."
???
George Bush has been a class warrior throughout his presidency, definancing border and immigration enforcement, attacking the middle class with HB-1 and open borders.
All for the reason of short term juicing profits of his pals.
He calls that "growth."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.